Lift span

Hi, I had to get planning permission for our front extension as it was beyond the front building line. The planning officer suggested squaring off the existing bay window ... good idea said I! However, that was amendment to the existing approved application so I had to pay £35 to get this amendment through. Things work very slowly in the planning world. I had no idea a minor amendment could take two months to pass; and it was his idea! Now with 18mm ply (heavy!) added: Thanks Mr Punter! I did wonder about adding more resin fixings at the brackets. I’ve only gone into the outer skin with with existing fixings. However, my main concern has been the turning moment from the whole structure pulling the whole wall away from the house. I’ve mitigated this by fixing the upper part of the frame to the roof rafters. I’ve added extra 4x2 timbers to make a triangle with the hypotenuse formed by the rafters. It seems pretty solid ...I’ve been hanging off it most of the afternoon!

Here you go... Timberlok and resin anchor heaven! Even though I’ve tied it into the rafters, I’m wondering how much weight a cavity wall can take. I may well end up with some steel supports below. Brackets are 60mm box section; 24hr turnaround from a chap up the road!

Thank Russell. Chap I spoke to was a local fabricator. He did say the 80mm section would hold the house up! I like your 50mm better! How about the flanges though? This: or this:

Very observant Mr Punter, it’s asbestos cement board. The Building Control Officer noted this and was very helpful about how to dispose of it. I’m fine though ... I got the Mrs to bash it off 😉. Nice idea about the window seat. However, I can’t see anyone ever sitting there apart from the dog. He likes to perch there and watch the world (well pigeons) go by. A low seat means he couldn’t. So, I’m really doing all this for the mutt! Here’s how it looks now: Regarding the brackets, I spoke to a local chap and he said get a structural engineer. I asked him if he was to over engineer it what would he do and he reckoned 80mm box section with longer verticals as shown below: Looks a bit over the top to me but might be the quickest option!

Thanks Russell. I think you are right . The brickwork is better lower down and the wall ties don’t start till about a metre down as well.

Thanks everyone! That’s a great help. I’ve removed the current windows and the existing rafters above have L shaped timber brackets on to form a triangle. The windows were screwed into these. I reckon I can use them too. How about the design below: It has 6x2 timber for the verticals, the middle horizontals and the “noggins”. The rest is 4x2. I’ve doubled up around where the windows will go. This would then be clad in 11mm OSB with insulation in the spaces above bracket level: How about these box section brackets below with resin fixed bolts into the wall. Maybe I would only need two brackets?

Nice! Where did you get the aluminium from if you don’t mind me asking?

Hi, I want to build a box bay window out of timber and I was looking for a few tips regarding construction. Here is the existing window: Here is what I’m hoping for: Here is what I thought: 6x2 timbers bolted to the wall vertically with wall anchors. 6x2 and 4x2 timbers as shown below. 2 or 3 gallow brackets, again with wall anchors into the brick work. Then insulation, plywood, covered in membrane then clad. Caldding would be either renderboard plus render, aluminium, or wood. The aluminium window weighs 143kg and it would also need to be strong enough to sit on. Internally it would look like this: Here is the existing internals: Does any body have any tips on construction or cladding? Thanks!

I’m a big fan of architouch3d on the ipad: http://www.architouch3d.com/

Next for me is to build the box bay window (which has got bigger). But, what should I cover it in? I was thinking aquapanel then render and painted. That way I could change the colour any time. But, then I thought aluminium pressings: Or cladding of some sort: Any thoughts?

Thanks for the replies. It all helps! I like the basalt grey Bitpipe. However, I’d like a subtle silver/grey render (probably paint actually!) rather than a pure white so that might offset the anthracite a bit. Dreadnaught, the internal config probably wouldn’t work with the shifted door. But, see below for the window. Ferdinand, you made me use up half an hour of my life looking at kids toys from my childhood! Time well spent actually! How about this though:

Ferdinand...that’s weird ... I was having exactly the same thoughts! 🤣 Just for you, how is this:

Well, things have moved on and the front extension is almost built but I need to finalise the windows. What do people prefer? Option A: Or Option B:

Yes, go down from the kitchen to the playroom under the stairs to the bedroom. There are a few structural issues to overcome but all possible I think. We thought about putting a long window in the spare room facing south but it would change the whole look at the front. It’s a nice idea to split the rooms as well but, having lived there a few years we like the room layout the way it is. One extra piece of information. Some time in the future I’d like to put a loft conversion in. With your idea I think loft steps would work well up from the +2 level as shown below.

Jimbo, I recommend Architouch 3D for initial designs. Really easy to use on an ipad. The later designs are in Sketchup. Not sure if I can post the Sketchup file on here, but there is a free 3D viewer on the ipad which is brilliant.